Liberty Shall Never Perish
by E-Tacito
Summary: During the attack on Ginza some off duty soldiers are captured and sold into slavery. This is their struggle for freedom.
1. Contemptus Mundi

**AN: Hey! This E-tacito here, bringing you a brand new story! For those of you who have read Fireteam of Idiots on Remnant. I'm not leaving that story to die. I've just been busy and I finally had a park of inspiration to write this story. I will try to get a chapter for that story out within the next couple of days. I just really wanted to write this so don't kill me for it.**

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"Hey fuck face, why did you make us go to this shit on leave instead of literally anywhere else? I could have been on a beach somewhere with a mojito and some bad ass babes on my arms. Instead I'm in this shit surrounded by some midget sized weebs. What gives Frias?" A young man said. Said young man was 19 years old with a slight blond stubble standing at around five foot eight inches. He had blonde hair in a combover with a fade along the sides in a military appropriate haircut. He had pale skin and striking blue eyes. A strong chin and a slightly crooked nose from a fight back in high school. His name was Private Timothy Volk. A proud member of the United States Army. 82nd Airborne to be specific.

"Calm the fuck down Volk. You suck at talking to women. Last time you tried, you turned into a blubbering virgin mess. You were lucky I was there to save your ass. Besides, I always wanted to visit Tokyo. See the technology and the culture." His comrade responded. His comrade was also a young man. Twenty two years old to be exact. He stood quite a bit bigger than Timothy at six foot two inches. Standing out in the crowded Tokyo streets, He had lightly tanned skin, black hair done up in a similar style to Timothy's just a tad shorter on the top. He had dark brown eyes with a fierce intensity to them. Not of his own volition, he simply had an intense air to him even though he was a relatively calm and peaceful person. His name was Spc. Efrain Frias. A proud member of the 82nd Airborne just like his comrade. He served as a Combat medic for the unit.

"Yeah. 'Culture'. The man just has yellow fever and wants to see if any of these fine ladies in Tokyo will give him a 'happy ending'." A man from behind them said grabbing them both around the necks with his arms. The man cut an imposing figure. Standing at six foot two just like Efrain, he however had at least twenty more pounds of muscle on his frame. He had his hair cut in a classic fade. He had pale skin and light brown hair with green eyes. He had dark circles around his eyes, probably from not getting enough sleep, even though he was on leave. His name was Private First Class Caleb Newlin. He was another member of their unit.

"Oh are you sure you of all people should be criticizing me for my preferences? The man who spent all his money in the strip club and had to borrow money from me to make his car payment for the month?" Frias responded sharply.

"Oh calm down Frias. That was forever ago. Besides. I don't mind this trip. The food is decent and I get to feel like a giant. Besides all these babes in risque costumes keeping wanting to take pictures with me. I have no idea what they are saying, but I fucking love it." Caleb responded with a large thumbs up and a sparkling smile.

"Yeah that makes sense. We are in Ginza and that seems to be anime central or at least close to it. They must all be cosplayers, they probably think you are cosplaying too. Especially with that bandana and the sleeveless shirt. Probably think you're a wannabe Rambo or some fucker in one of their countless anime." Frias responded as they made their way to the KFC down the street where they were supposed to meet the last man of their group.

"Gotta say tho. Kinda hate the whole no guns allowed thing about this country. I just feel naked without something to protect myself with." Volk said as they continued walking down the packed street. "Also is it always this packed?"

"Relax. This is literally the safest city in the world, besides I'm pretty sure we'll be fine as long as we don't get into a fight with the second coming of Jackie Chan." Frias replied.

"I'm pretty sure Jackie Chan is Chinese bro." Tim responded.

"Eh same shit."

"That's pretty racist bro." Tim teased

"Yeah definitely not PC bro." Caleb joined in on the good natured ribbing.

"Ah fuck off. Y'all got no right to give me shit about being PC. Especially you Volk! After you got shit faced and sat at Popeyes demanding that they give you the n-word chicken." Frias snapped back

"Hey bro. Not cool. We promised to never bring up Volk's many many many failures as a human being." Newlin replied smugly.

"Oh really? Says the man who ran through a gay pride parade absolutely shit faced screaming there are only two genders. The dicks and the dickless." Volk snapped back.

"Yeah not my brightest moment." Newlin replied scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well it's pretty obvious you are all absolute degenerates, but you are all my degenerates. So please. Don't cause an international incident by committing a hate crime? And please for all that is holy remember the three rules. Don't subtract from the local population. Don't add to the local population. And if you end up in jail. Establish dominance quickly, cuz your ass is staying there for a while." A voice spoke up from his seat on a bench. The man sitting there was a young man, 25 years old. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He had an old fashioned high and tight haircut and had a piercing stare. He had a scar that ran the length of his cheekbone under his right eye from shrapnel he received in Afghanistan. He had a deep and rumbling voice. He cut an imposing sight even though he stood shorter than both Frias and Newlin at five foot ten inches. He was Cpl. Michael Kopman. Leader of the Unit of absolute idiots.

"Now let's get some food. I want some goddamn chicken and this shithole doesn't have a Chick-fil-a anywhere. So we gotta go to the Colonel I guess." Kopman said as we entered the KFC.

"Yeah bro. That Chick-fil-a sauce be hittin'." Volk said as we entered the full KFC and got into the back of the very long line.

"Nah bruh Cane's is where it's at. That toast they give with the meal is fire. And that chicken is way better than Chick-fil-a. I'll give Chick-fil-a some credit, that sauce is fire, but everywhere else Cane's is the boss." Newlin fired back.

"Oh shut the fuck up you failed coathanger abortion! Chick-fil-a has better fries and the better sauce. I'm in between on the chicken, but overall Chick-fil-a is the fucking way to go." Volk shot back starting a scene as everybody's attention shot towards the group of arguing idiots.

"How about you Frias? What side you leaning on?" Kopman asked generally curious, and not really caring about all the attention they were receiving.

"Honestly. I like all of it. It's all better than DFAC food. So I really couldn't give less of a shit. As long as it's real food and not some of this sushi bullshit, then I'm down." Frias responded calmly.

In the Japanese crowd you could see a few people get pissed off by the sushi comment.

"Ya know. It's really strange. For all that you wanted to come to Japan, you really don't like the local food." Kopman replied.

"Well I grew up eating beans, rice, and meat for the majority of my life. Didn't have seafood until I was in my late teens and never really liked it unless it was fried or salmon. For some reason salmon is alright. The rest is all bullshit. At least to me." Frias replied as the line kept moving.

"Eh to each his own I guess." Kopman replied while Volk and Newlin kept on bickering and were on the verge of fighting right there and then. "Should we break these idiots up? Or let these fine people have a show?"

"Nah" Frias said looking at the onlookers slowly stepping away from the soldiers. "We don't need Tokyo police here giving us a hard time. The less bullshit I deal with this weekend the better."

"Yeah. Let's just break this shit off now." Kopman says before they start hearing screams. "Come on now. No need to scream! They haven't even thrown a punch yet!?"

He then looked around the restaurant and saw that it wasn't anybody from inside that was yelling, rather the yells were coming from outside the restaurant. Looking outside they saw tons of people running in absolute chaos away from something straight north of their position. The group decided to head out of the restaurant to see what the situation was. Up ahead they could see a small group of police cars starting to set up a roadblock. Then that's when they heard a vicious roar and looked up to see a dragon flying above them.

"For fucksakes. The one time we go to Japan they decide to go all Godzilla and shit." Volk yelled out.

"Fuck it let's go see what the Police are building a baricade for." Kopman said before leading the group through the chaos and towards the police. As they got closer they heard the first gunshots, causing them to hurry up their pace and reach the Barricade sooner. Once they reached the police they were yelled at by said police. They couldn't understand them so they decided to take a peak and see what they were dealing with. Up ahead of them they saw a massive formation of romanesque looking soldiers with shields and armor. They had to take cover once more behind the police cars as a volley of arrows flew towards them.

"Ah shit Cpl. what the fuck are we going to do? And what they fuck is going on? These arrows look pretty fucking real!" Volk shouted out as the Arrows pierced the cars and shattered the glass.

"Get out of here. Civilians run away!" One of the Police officers who spoke english yelled out at the group.

"We aren't civilians. We're soldiers. Let us help out. Do you have any extra weapons?" Kopman yelled back. For a second the police argued between themselves before relenting.

"All we have is one extra Nambu M60. We only have the six shells to spare." The officer from earlier said handing the .38 revolver to Kopman before handing the rest of us night sticks. "This is all we have. We just have to hold this position until the JSDF get here."

"How about the US marines at the embassy? Shouldn't they be able to lend us some support." Kopman asked as he checked the gun out.

"No the embassy is being assaulted on all sides and there are multiple groups attacking in various locations throughout the city. We just have to hold out for as long as possible!" The Officer replied.

"Well shit we aren't going to hold up long against that! The infantry is getting closer! We aren't going to make a difference in this wide open street! We need to get it in a tight confined area where numbers will matter less!" Kopman shouted back after seeing the columns advancing at a faster pace with a man on a horse leading them on.

"What do you suggest? We can't leave the civilians unguarded." The officer replied.

"We aren't exactly going to slow them down too much. I think your first gunshots just spooked them. The cars will slow them down a small bit, but a few bullets and nightsticks won't do much good out in the open. Let's take the fight into the lobby of the hotel a block down. It's one obvious entrance point and we can fight them as they come in. There we can at least cause them some casualties and slow them down somewhat to buy the others time to get to safety. It's the best way to make a difference. Don't fight a meaningless battle." Kopman said while pointing out a hotel further down the street.

"Alright fine." The officer said before turning to his colleagues and relaying the orders.

After the next arrow volley the group of twelve men made a mad dash for the hotel stowed away inside. Inside the lobby there were various employees huddled behind the counter that popped their head up to see what was going on.

The officer yelled off some orders to the civilians in Japanese and they quickly made their way up to the upper floors of the building.

"Alright let's form up here. I want those with guns behind the concierge desk. Sights on the entrance point. Frias, Newlin, and Volk. I want you guys to stack up next to the door. As soon as we drop the first few I need you guys to take their weapons and armor. It's going to be a CQC battle after the first few minutes and I'd much rather all of us have armour and swords rather than just nightsticks." Kopman shouted out as everybody went about following his commands. Even the Tokyo Police didn't question the orders after they were translated for them.

After waiting about three or so minutes the first of the soldiers made their way into the building smashing the glass doors wide open only two get riddled with holes as the police unloaded a salvo on the first two soldiers through. Immediately Frias, Volk, and Newlin got to work dragging the dying bodies away and finishing them off. Frias and Volk immediately equipped themselves with the hole blood soaked plate body armor of the soldiers. Newlin took the scutum shield and gladius sword for himself while Frias grabbed a scutum shield, a pugio dagger, and a Pilum spear. Volk armed himself with the Gladius sword, Pugio dagger, and a Pilum spear. They quickly formed up once more by the door and had Frias and Newlin form up a small shield wall in order to protect themselves from some arrows that flew through the door at their position. The arrows hit their shields, with a few glancing off the shields and a few getting stuck to the shields.

After taking cover they saw a group of five men run at them. Frias and Newlin braced themselves against the shields and were able to hold them off momentarily.

"Let them through! Move to the side! We have enough ammo to nail them!" Kopman yelled out over the chaos.

"Alright you guys. On me we take a few steps back alright?" Frias grunted from exertion.

"Copy that!" Newlin yelled out.

"Alright! Then pull!", Frias yelled out as they slowly started giving ground in order to let the Romans through. The first to break through around the two was immediately hit with a .38 to the face. Three more were gunned down in short order before Frias stabbed the last one through the throat with his pilum.

"Quickly! Grab weapons! We have more tangos incoming!" Newlin yelled as everybody ran to scavenge what they could from the dead and dying bodies.

While the rest were getting ready the first of the enemy hit the line Frias and Newlin made. Soon after Volk came to help having scavenged a shield. The three tried to buy the others as much time as possible holding the line and slashing at the enemies with their daggers and swords whenever possible. For their troubles they got various lacerations on their arms and shoulders, but nothing life threatening yet. They had managed to kill a few with slashes to their throats and faces over the tops of their shields, thanks mostly to the height advantage they had over the shorter romans. However they weren't able to hold the line indefinitely, eventually they were pushed back and the grand melee began. The Unit held on as fiercely as they could, fighting with every fiber in their bodies. However they were no match for the seemingly never ending stream of soldiers coming their way. The first man fell not two minutes into the melee. One of the Japanese troopers took a slash to the throat and was subsequently stabbed in the spleen. Through the melee the unit and a three Japanese officers were able to regroup and make a final stand at the stairwell. The fighting continued on with all of them inflicting losses on the enemy. However after eight minutes of fierce fighting the unit started to slow down and as a result took more wounds. Frias received a stab through the thigh which brought him down before a shield bash knocked him out. Newlin took a hard slash to the shoulder and a pummel to the face. The rest of the line broke down soon after and it looked like the enemy was about to finish them off when a crass voice yelled out.

_"__**Halt! No need to kill these men. Death would be too good for these savages. I'm sure they will fetch a good price on the market! The royals always do like paying extra for exotic and strong specimen. Take them back across to Alnus! And capture any other savages you see! Don't fall into you bloodlust! You would just be wasting money! Go up the stairs! Take all the savages you can! Enjoy yourselves men!" **_A pompous looking man with gold plated armour and a red tunic spoke out amongst his men. With those orders the men quickly disarmed and captured the exhausted and wounded fighters.

_"They'll fetch a good price wouldn't you agree Aurelius?"_ The pompous man asked a lanky long faced man with jet black hair. He was in a matching tunic and armour.

_"Yes Nero, I do believe they will fetch quite a large sum of coin at the slavers market. I think I'll even keep one. That one that was stabbed in the leg. He has some strong Imperial like features. He looks like he could pass as a son of the Empire. He looks strong and has an impressive height to him. I'm sure the crowds would love to see him fight. They were all quite the fighters. I might actually make more money off them in the arena." _

_"Ah in that case I too will take some into my family's hands. My dearest uncle might appreciate the gift. The god's only know how much he complains about the lack of good fighting men. I'll take the tall hulking Brute and the older man. I'll let you do as you please with the other fighters. We should split the profits from the other slaves evenly." _

_"That seems like an acceptable agreement. Ad victoriam." _

_"Ad victoriam!"_

With that the men were bound in rope and dragged away through the gate where their dark future would begin. If only they would have ran up the staircase and hidden for thirty minutes they would have been saved by the JSDF.


	2. In Omnia Paratus

Waking up was pure Agony for Spc. Frias. His thigh felt like it was on fire, the hard floor left him sore, the stench of unknown source filled his nose. Opening his eyes he saw the others of his unit also passed out in a cage on a moving wagon. In the cage with them were the three Japanese Police officers that made the last stand with them. Trying to sit up he saw that his hands and legs were chained together. Looking around he could see that he was in a long caravan of wagons each loaded up with prisoners and other items they probably looted.

Looking down to his thigh he could see that it was wrapped up. Carefully undoing the wrapping he could see that the wound was stitched up and had some sort of salve put over it. Looking over everyone else in the group he could see all of them had been treated as well.

Along the sides of the caravan he could see various soldiers on horseback in full armour guarding the caravan. They were driving through farmland as far as the eye could see. Absolutely no chance for escape. Especially with the wound to his leg.

Being careful to not bring too much attention to himself he nudged Kopman. "*pst* Kopman. Wake up!"

Kopman shot up awake and was about to say something before Frias quickly silenced him. "*shhh* Not too loud. Looks like we've been taken as POWs. Probably back from wherever these assholes came from. Cuz this sure as hell doesn't look like Japan to me. Wake up the others. Make sure they remember their SERE training."

"Roger that. Although I doubt they could really torture us for information, since I highly doubt they speak the same language." Kopman responded in a whisper.

"Yeah that would have been way too convenient." Frias responded as he quickly rewrapped his wound.

"You good Frias?"

"I doubt any of us are good at the moment Kopman."

"Yeah, I'm not liking our chances here. Especially since they have a bunch of civvies in other wagons. Mostly women. I think we both shouldn't delude ourselves as to what's going to happen."

"Yeah. They look Roman, fight Roman, I shouldn't be surprised if we are on our way to be sold right now."

"Well we only have to survive and keep our heads down. It won't be long before Uncle Sam finds us and brings us back home."

"Yeah we just have to do what we can to make sure we all stay together."

"Either way I trust our country. They'll get us back in no time. I'm sure that Hell will be raised when they find out we were taken."

"Yeah, but until then just take it one day at a time. Make sure the guys understand that. We just have to survive. Don't act out or do anything that could possibly get us killed early. I know it sucks, but we can have our revenge later. Just keep on keeping on."

With that the Kopman went about waking the others and informing them of the situation. They talked with the police as well to make sure that nobody in the wagon acted out or attracted attention. It was a wise decision as in the distance they could hear outcries being quickly silenced with loud cracks of a whip. They just and to grit and bare the sounds of absolute misery coming from the other wagons. It tore at the hearts, but there was simply nothing that they could do. They were in absolutely no position to help.

The Caravan stopped every night and set up camp for roughly nine hours. At the beginning of the break they were given a loaf of bread between all of them to share. In the morning they were once again given bread. They would be taken out of the cages once a day and each with a double guard to relieve themselves in the wilds. They quickly noticed that they were far heavily more guarded and well treated in comparison to the other wagons. It wasn't great treatment by any means, but they were never beaten and given some food. Not nearly enough, but much more than the others were apparently given. They also had a young woman with blue hair and robes come by every night to check and clean their wounds.

This continued for a whole week until, finally, they entered what seemed like a city with high walls and sentries all around. Entering the city they could see hundreds of people milling about as they entered the city. Immediately the caravan received the attention of all the citizens looking at the otherworldly slaves.

Looking out towards the crowd the unit could make out many of the civilians who weren't quite human and a great many slaves amongst the crowd. Dressed in rags and collars.

Soon the other wagons diverted towards a large merchant square while the wagon that carried the men continued on deeper into the city. They carried on carrying a huge crowd that looked at them as if they were a zoo exhibit. The Men handled the awkward situation as best as they could. They kept their heads up and looked straight ahead. Never reacting to the external stimuli, showing a level of discipline that pleased Nero.

_"They will make fine fighters. Look at that not a single peep or reaction the entire trip. No complaints. We didn't even have to beat them into submission. It's almost like they were meant to be slaves!"_ Nero exclaimed with a hearty chuckle.

_"Now now Nero. I don't believe it to be so. They fought hard against our men. Their military completely obliterated our forces, we were lucky to have been taking our spoils back across when the fortunes turned. So don't believe them to be cowed so easily. They are smart, they won't fight a useless fight. They are conserving their energy. That makes them dangerous. I would watch them carefully. They could make us a lot of money in the arena, however we must be vigilant and not allow them any freedoms."_ Aurelius replied with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. _"We have captured lions, but we still have not tamed them." _

_"Now now. There's no need to be so worried about them. They are injured, besides we are a very long distance from Alnus now. We should thank the Gods that we came out with few losses and some spoils. Regardless It will be awhile until they can fight in the arena. You can do as you wish with your slaves. I trust my uncle will turn them into fine gladiators. Don't you worry." _Nero responded evenly.

_"Very well then. Let us continue. My Villa is not too far from Telta. We should arrive before nightfall." _

_"I still do not understand why we didn't sell the slaves at the capital? I'm sure the nobles would pay a good price for them." _

_"Yes yes I'm sure they would, however, I don't trust that the king wouldn't try to confiscate our spoils. I'm sure the king would use them to better understand the enemy rather than as gladiators. Especially after such a devastating routing. I won't let him steal my prizes solely to save face. Besides I wouldn't mind seeing many of these slaves stay in our vicinity. I know our men enjoy them greatly." _

_"Ah, so this is in order to boost morale in the province! Very smart. Let the people of Telta enjoy your conquests." _

_"I have my reasons Nero. Let it be left at that. You and your men are free to stay the night at my Villa. I know it's another half a days travel to your Uncle's Villa. I'm sure he will enjoy the gift." _

_"Yes you have my gratitude for you hospitality." _

_"No need for any thanks. It's merely a favor amongst friends." _

They continued on through the city and headed north crossing a river. They traveled on for a few more hours until the scenery changed from sparse woodlands to a vineyard. Row after row of grapes. Amongst the grapevines various slaves could be seen picking the grapes with armed guards watching over them. Saluting the two men on horseback as they rode by. All the slaves quickly dropped to one knee and bowed as their master rode by.

At the end of the road was a large gate guarded by four soldiers in full regalia. They quickly opened the Gate into a large courtyard. Waiting for them were three women in splendid robes and jewelry. Beside them were three women in white robes and collars carrying fruits and jars.

_"Welcome home beloved husband" _One of the ladies dressed regally spoke as she gracefully made her way towards Aurelius. She was a beauty who had aged well. Her hair was done up with no effort made to conceal the grays that dotted her lovely brunette curls. "_I see that the conquest of the new world has gone well! It seems the gods have graced our land once again! I assume these men are to be sent to the pit?" _

"_The Conquest did not go as planned, It ended in disaster for the empire. Most of the Army was destroyed. It was solely thanks to the grace of the gods that we had crossed back across before the enemy made its lightning fast counter offensive. We came home to leave these men. I will have Cassius train these men with the new slaves. These savages killed a great number of our men. We must make sure that they pay back their debt to us with blood and gold in the Arena." _Aurelius said as he got off his horse to embrace his wife. "_Now dear how have Priscilla and Sabina behaved themselves? The Gods only know how they have frightened off any suitors so far with their sharp tongues." _He said looking towards his daughters. They were both beauties in their own right having fair skin, lithe bodies, brunette curls, and beautiful faces. They would have looked angelic if it weren't for the impish grins on their faces and the sharp look in their eyes

"_Now now dear. I have made sure to re-educate them on how to comport themselves as proper ladies, however it seems they still haven't given up their juvenile dreams of joining Pina's knights." _

"_I wouldn't mind if they joined the Rose Order, if only to make closer ties with the royal family. However they would only bring embarrassment to our family if they did so. They have fragile bodies, they wouldn't withstand the training. For gods sake Sabina can't even stand up too quickly without nearly feinting. I love my daughters my dear, but their dreams and their destiny are two entirely different things." _

"_I know my dear, they are simple being stubborn. I know I was that way when I was their age. It will pass with time." _She said to her husband before turning to the rest of the gathering and speaking up louder. "_Now let us feast. The cooks have made a bountiful banquet, I'm sure you are all famished after your long journey!" _

"_That we are my dear." _Aurelius said before turning to his men and speaking louder with command. "_Take my slaves to the pit! Have Cassius get to work on them immediately tell him he has a month to get them into fighting shape! Leave Nero's slaves in the wagon. Give them supper and let the sleep in the wagon."_

At his command the men were quickly taken to another section of the villa. It was a large semi arena with high walls and another gate. This gate was guarded as well by another two armed guards. Opening up the wagon the group of otherworlders, excluding Newlin and Kopman, were harshly dragged out and brought to the gate. Then one by one they were uncuffed and brought into the arena. The arena was quite simple It was just a large oval open area that had coarse sand instead of cobblestone. Standing in the middle flanked by six guards was a large imposing man with various scars across his lightly tanned skin. He had brown leather armor and a sword strapped to his belt, while he had a whip in hand. He stood at roughly six feet and had just as much muscle as Newlin had. As soon as they crossed into the Arena they were arranged in a line in front of him, quickly other slaves were brought to stand with them. Many were human men just like them however two of them clearly weren't human. One of them was a woman with one and a half brown bunny ears and fur that went up her legs to mid thigh. The other was a man with long pointy ears. Obviously an elf. In total there were twenty people lined up in order.

As soon as they were all settled the man began to speak in a booming voice, "_Good Afternoon you pitiful scum! My name is Cassius! You shall call me Doctore! You now belong to Aurelius' Ludus. Many of you are slaves, some of you are free men who sold you service in the arena to pay off debts. Regardless of how you begin you are all equally worthless as of this moment! It is my job to train you into something of worth so that our Master can get his money's worth out of you! Fear not! For if you die in the arena I am sure the Goddess Emroy will smile upon your death and your afterlife shall be blessed. If you are lucky enough to reach that rare one hundredth win. Well then you shall walk away a free man. However I do not see anything here that will make me think you bunch will make it that far. Excluding those in the middle. These men aren't from this world. So they don't have a clue of what I'm saying. These have killed a great many men on the battlefield. Let's see if they can show us some of their skills? Throw them a practice sword and shield! They shall spar with Magnus one on one. I want to see what skills the other world has." _

Soon a wooden sword and shield were thrown at the feet of one of the Japanese officers. He still had his uniform on much like the other two officers. Then a man in leather armor and a scar stretching from his hairline down to his chin came out from behind the guards. The man was well muscled and had a strong tan. He had a long brown hair that was tied into a wolf's tail. The man grabbed a wooden shield and sword from the bucket next to Cassius. The man pointed at the sword and shield on the floor and then pointed at the officer. The orders were clear. No words were needed.

The officer slowly picked up the shield and sword and stepped forward. With the crack of the whip the fight began with the slightly larger gladiator charging at the officer. The man swung at the officer who blocked it with his shield, however he was congratulated for his efforts with a shield slamming into his chest making him take a few steps back. The man had no mercy and continuously assaulted the officer, ripping the shield from the officers hands and then whaling on him with his wooden sword until the officer was bloodied and on the floor.

"_Cease! The fight is over! In Magnus' favor. Next match!" _Cassius yelled out. A few slaves came from a tunnel at the far end of the arena and dragged the officer away. Magnus then threw the shield and sword at the feet of the next Officer. The Officer took the sword and shield. This time he decided it would be better to be aggressive rather than defensive like his comrade was. This quickly proved to be a mistake as Magnus easily avoided each swing and retaliated heavily. A few swings to the face and body quickly took the officer out of the fight.

Once again a few slaves grabbed the man and took him away. Before the shield and sword were thrown at the feet of the next officer Frias spoke to him. "Hey you were the officer that was able to speak english right?"

"Yeah my name is Tenshi. What do you want?"

"Well Tenshi, the name is Frias. In your fight don't be so quick to stick to one strategy, stay mobile and keep your distance. Don't commit fully to your attacks, just do short swings and stabs. Try to disrupt his footwork."

"Alright, I'll try." Tenshi said before receiving the sword and shield.

Keeping Frias' advice in mind he kept his distance and tried a few probing attacks. Eventually Magnus went on the offensive. Tenshi blocked and tried to counter attack, however Magnus spun around the attack with quick feet and slashed him in the back before Tenshi could defend. The match lasted much longer thanks to the advice, but Magnus was too quick and agile for Tenshi and eventually he got his face beat in for it.

Frias was next and decided to forgo the shield entirely, something that raised a few eyebrows amongst the crowd. Cassius was inwardly pleased, they were learning that they could not defend against someone so agile with such a rigid defense. This fighter seemed to acknowledge that he wasn't efficient with a shield yet, so opted to fight in a different manner. It was yet to be seen if that strategy would pay off, but maybe there was some hope amongst this bunch after all.

Slightly limping to get in front of Magnus the rest of the crowd was able to see the sizeable height advantage that Frias had, which only confused the rest of the crowd excluding Cassius even more. By their logic he could have hidden behind the shield and lashed out with his longer wingspan.

With the crack of the whip the fight began and surprisingly both fighters charged at each other. To everybody's confusion Frias just threw his sword at Magnus which was easily deflected by his shield. Frias took advantage of the distraction to dive to one knee and away from the incoming shield bash and shoot up into Magnus' ribcage in a classic wrestling takedown. The tackle brought Magnus to the floor and made him lose his weapons as he was smashed into the ground. Frias used his Enemies momentary confusion to lay punch after punch on the man. However Magnus quickly regained his senses and started to defend and send some punches back doing what he could to get out of the hold. Then as if a lightbulb went off in his head Magnus punched Frias right in the thigh where his wound was. This quickly got Frias off as he howled in pain, Magnus quickly lept on his prey and rained down blows forcing him to unconsciousness.

Cassius was inwardly impressed with the strategy, however he knew that with real swords and shields that would have been a suicidal attack. Nonetheless it showed that at least they had some promise. He signaled for the man to be taken to the nurse to be healed. They needed to be up and ready early in the morning after all. He silently asked Magnus if he was alright to take on the next otherworlder. The man did take some heavy hits from the last fighter after all. Magnus signalled that he was good to go. Volk was given a sword and shield. Unlike Frias he kept his shield and sword. With a final crack of the whip the last fight of the day began. Volk showed so quick feet and speed being able to avoid most of the hits. This fight turned more into one of attrition only ending due to Volk getting tired and losing his footing. He fought valiantly, but in the end the result was the same.

"_Well seems like they have some spirit and skill. Not much. But some. Make sure they are fed and healed. They need to be prepared for training in the morning." _Cassius spoke to one of the Guards. "_Okay rodents! Hopefully you can fight like them, we will find that out tomorrow! Today rest for tomorrow your time in Hades shall begin!"_


	3. Nomen Fortis

Frias awoke the next day in a dark and dingy cell on a hard cot. Looking around he could see Volk and the rest of the officers also in the cells. His body cried out in pain from the numerous hits he took the day prior, however his leg didn't hurt as much anymore. Looking down to the fresh bandages and peeling them back he was able to see that the wound looked much better and was healing nicely. In the corner of his dark cell he was able to see what looked like a tray and a cup. Rushing over he was able to see a cup of water and a small meal of what looked like gruel along with bread. It was all cold, but that hardly made a difference as he scoffed it all down in seconds. The taste wasn't offensive, nor was it appetizing. It would do to satisfy his hunger. Standing up in his cell he could see outside through a small window about face height. Far too small to escape from, but enough in fresh air and some moonlight. Frias decided to lay back down and relax while he could. He quickly lulled to sleep as he relaxed on the cot.

What felt like only twenty minutes later a ringing bell along with yells awoke him. Looking up he could see sunshine seeping through the window illuminating the cell. Standing up, he could see the man from yesterday, Doctore Cassius, walking up and down the cells screaming at everyone. Eventually the man stopped screaming and motioned everyone to step to the front of their cells.

Starting on the other side of the cells two men opened up one of the cells and took one of the other men from yesterday away. The rest of the group stood where they were in their cells for ten minutes until they came back without the man and took the next person. The process was repeated until it was Frias' turn. After another ten minute wait the two men came for him. Both men were significantly shorter than him but the swords at their sides made it clear that they were not to be messed with. No words were spoken as they simply pointed at him to step out and to follow. Frias complied as there was nothing else he could really do unless he wanted a pointless beating.

Following the men he was led into a room where two female slaves stood waiting with razors, robes and a large tub of water.

The first slave, a woman with light brown skin and brunette curls with subtle curves and a serious although pretty face spoke, " _So this is one of the other worlders. He doesn't seem too different from any of us, although he is an impressive specimen. Quite handsome too. Do you think Cassius will let me spend the night in his cell if I sneak him some of the hearty wine he enjoys?" _

"_Always so crass aren't you Claudia?" _The other slave, an older lady with a weathered and stern face and diminutive stature replied. "_And what have I told you about stealing from the masters? You will get yourself killed one of these days young lady. Let us just get about doing our jobs. The poor man doesn't even understand a word of our language, look how confused he looks." _ She gestured to Frias who was standing in the room.

"_Always have to take the fun out of everything don't you Livia?" _Claudia replied as she approached Frias, "_Besides, I don't need to be able to speak to him for me to mount him. I'm sure he would get the hint in other manners." _

"_Let's just get our work done, see if he still breathes after hell week and their initiation. Then you can see about doing whatever it is you wish." _Livia said before she motioned Frias to take his shirt off which he reluctantly did.

"_I believe he will be just fine. He's certainly a strong man." _Claudia replied as she ran her hands along Frias' chest. "_And exotic. These tattoos are rather intricate and beautiful" _

"_Let's just get started Claudia. We have a few more trainees to go through and we still have to complete other tasks today. You can seduce him some other time." _Livia shot back as she forced Frias to take off the rest of his clothes and they began to clean him.

"_Well at least I know it will be an enjoyable ride." _Claudia quipped back as she washed his back.

"_That's enough young lady. Begin shaving his head since you obviously can't control yourself."_ Livia ordered.

"_Fine!" _Claudia whined disappointedly as she began shaving his head.

They continued on in silence as they shaved and cleaned him from head to two before covering him in a white powder. He was then given a tunic and belt along with a loincloth that was used as underwear. They then sent him into a small hall that had the rest of the slaves who were now freshly shaved and powdered. He sat at the table that was empty excluding the elf and bunny girl both of who were not shaved, but rather had their hair cut extremely short similar to a pixie cut. A bowl of gruel and water was given to him as soon as he sat down. He shoved the gruel down his throat and washed it all down with water. As soon as he finished eating Volk sat next to him and began eating.

"Where did they take Newlin and Kopman?" Frias asked as Volk ate.

"No clue. I think they might have been taken to some other trainer. We'll figure that out later, we just have to focus on surviving and learning. Learning the language is a must."

"I agree hopefully our fellow slaves can help us learn."

"Well let's hope so. Also what's with this powder?"

"No clue bro, might be symbolic, might be used to prevent infection, honestly as long as it doesn't hurt me I couldn't care less."

"Same bro, but that felt invasive as fuck bro. I could have washed and shaved myself."

"When in Rome do as the Romans do. I'm not surprised they did this to us. I wouldn't be surprised if they do worse. As long as we keep breathing and stay healthy that's all that matters. We will just do as they say."

"Until help arrives, right?"

"Yes, until help arrives."

They remained in silence as Volk finished his food. The group waited until the last of the Japanese officers were brought in from being shaved and washed. Five minutes later the Doctore collected them and brought them into the arena. He lined them up in a similar manner as yesterday. Next to him were a pile of heavy wood logs, barrels of wooden swords, and another pile of shields.

"_Well Maggots today begins your introduction into a gladiator lifestyle. This is hell week. Some of you will not survive until the end of this week. This is a fact. Those that survive will be welcomed into the ranks of the Gladiators. If you look up to the balcony behind me you will see the Family of Aurelius Fabius Gallius. They are your new masters." _Doctore Cassius pointed to the balcony behind him where Aurelius and his family sat in comfortable chairs seemingly enjoying breakfast.

"_You will do well to prove your worth here this week. Your lives depend on it. I want all of you to grab a log. This will be your training equipment. They all weigh the same so worry not over which one you pick. Hurry up and grab a log!" _ Doctore ordered as he snapped his whip.

Immediately the trainees all grabbed a log with the otherworlder group catching up and grabbing one too. Each log weighed roughly eighty pounds. Soon everyone was back in formation. And the training began. They completed sit ups with the log on their chest, using the log for incline push ups, curling the log, so on and so forth. They ended the morning workout with a long hour long jog around the premises while carrying the log on their shoulders.

They were given twenty minutes to eat and drink before they were sent back our into the arena and handed a sword and shield. Doctore quickly showed them the proper swinging motion and ordered them to repeat after him. The otherworlders quickly caught on and began mimicking everyone else. Swinging at their invisible opponent until they were told to stop. They then went on to learn a series of slashes, stabs, and shield movements.

They were then split off into pairs by Doctore. The man made sure that none of the otherworlders were paired together. He paired Frias with the Elf, Volk with the Warrior Bunny, Tenshi with a Former Imperial citizen, and the other two Japanese officers with Enslaved barbarians.

Frias faced off with his opponent the elf was roughly a head shorter with a lithe body meant for speed rather than strength. The Elf was obviously exhausted from the earlier morning workout seeing as he was barely keeping his shield up. Frias motioned for the Elf to drop his shield as he did the same. Only for Frias' back to light up in pain as Doctore whipped him across the back. Doctore pointed at the shield on the floor and back to Frias. The order was clear, you keep the shield up or be punished. Frias winced at the pain before grabbing the shield and lifting it.

"_Seems like the otherworlder feels pity for you! Show him that you are not one to be pitied!" Doctore yelled at the Elf as he cracked his whip. _

The elf hesitantly nodded and commenced his attack beginning with a large sloppy overhead strike. Frias blocked it easily and shoved him to the ground with his sword arm. The elf was quick to get back on his feet and slash again at Frias, who easily knocked it aside with his shield and shield bashed the poor elf to the ground.

"_Back on your feet Elf! The otherworlder is making fun of you! He doesn't even raise his sword against you! Make him respect you!" _Doctore emphasized with a crack of his whip.

The Elf charged again and again each time trying and failing harder and harder. Frias never hit the elf once with his sword, opting to just knock him down over and over. Eventually Frias had enough and motioned with his hands to stop. Looking around the training ground and making eye contact with the Doctore. He then motioned to his sword and made a motion to make it smaller then pointing at the elf.

"_Seems like the otherworlder thinks you would do better with a dagger than a sword. Maybe he is right." _Doctore then grabbed two daggers and threw them at the feet of the elf. "_Be thankful that the otherworlder is kind enough to offer you assistance. You will find no such kindness amongst the others." _

The elf nodded towards the Doctore then nodded to Frias in thanks before putting aside the shield and sword to pick up the daggers. The Elf quickly spun the daggers around in his hand before reverse gripping it and charging. This time the Elf was more efficient taking quick swipes at Frias and probing his defenses. None of the attacks made it past Frias' shield, but It was a much better engagement and forced Frias to become mobile enough to avoid the attacks. The Elf was swift enough to dodge any counters Frias threw back causing the fighting to become more of an equal fight. The Elf proved to be flexible and agile using his lithe frame to make him almost impossible to hit. The two continued on pushing each other and trading blows, both pushing themselves to be faster and accurate.

Doctore looked up to the balcony to see Aurelius nodding in approval of the by play between Frias and the Elf. Deciding his approval was enough Doctore allowed the two to continue as he moved onwards to the others. Next he came on to the Warrior Bunny and Volk. The bunny warrior was attacking well with the sword, but seemed a bit uncomfortable with the shield. However her speed more than protected her from any of Volk's slashes, however Volk made an impenetrable defense with his shield. They would work off well with each other. Volk clearly being a good defensive fighter while the Warrior Bunny was of the offensive mindset. Moving onwards he revised each pairing to ensure that they were well matched. For the most part he was content, for now. Looking out towards the cages he could see some of the seasoned Gladiators scoping out the newbies. The Otherworlders catching most of their eyes first and foremost. Not that he could blame them, he was just as curious himself. He would see in the time to come if they would rise to the challenge and prove themselves in the pit, or die on the hot sands. For now he would have them run until they collapse.

* * *

Frias dragged himself off the ground with a ragged breath, his lungs on fire and his legs giving out on him as he tried to stand only to crash onto his knees. Looking around he could see everyone else was in much the same situation having to run for what felt like the last three hours after sparring for an hour or so. The sun had long set and a series of torches lit up the arena. Doctore gave one final crack of his whip and pointed towards the now open door leading back into the cells. The message clear. Training was done for the day. Flopping on his back Frias took a while to collect his breath and gaze at the beautiful night's sky. After a while Frias stood back up and was actually able to steady himself on his aching and sore legs. He could feel the rawness of his feet that were no doubt bleeding. Standing up he could see that Volk also made it onto his feet. A few dozen feet away from him he could see his sparring partner collapsed on the ground struggling to get to his feet. Hobbling over to his partner he gives him a hand up to which the Elf hesitantly takes.

"Gratias tibi", The Elf speaks softly thanking Frias only to almost collapse face first only for Frias to catch him and throw his arm over his shoulder to help him walk.

"Gratias tibi, I'm going to assume that Thank you? De nadi? Is that right?" Frias responded only to get a short chuckle and shake of the head from the Elf. The Elf pointed at himself and said, "Yumi"

"Ah, Yumi. Weird name, but weirder place so can't judge." Frias said before he pointed to himself and said, "Frias"

"Frias, Nomen Fortis" The Elf replied softly.

"Oh I think I can figure that one out! Nomen must be name and fortis is like strong or something like that. Gratias tibi!" Frias replied with a smile which got one in return as they hobbled back to the cells. However as they entered the cafeteria they saw food awaiting us. At that moment Frias' stomach decided to make itself known. They quickly scarfed down the bread and gruel, but not before Yumi taught him that they were called panem et polentam. After eating they dragged themselves into their individual cells before passing out on their individual cots. It was only the beginning of a hellish week.


End file.
